Welcome to our Virtual Studio Tour! We are thrilled to share the photos that Ashley Biess (uber talented photographer & owner of Artistrie Co.) took of our space back in November! Our design studio is located in the West Town/Fulton Market neighborhood of Chicago at 1431 W Hubbard Street #103. Tim & I searched for months for the right space before finding this gem. It came with many perks including a bike share program, Nest heating/cooling system (a florist’s dream), and of course, plenty of natural light. But most of all, we fell in love with the location of this Fulton Market office of ours!
We’re a block away from Kennicott Brothers, a wholesaler where the majority of our flowers come in from every week. Because our Fulton Market office is just down the block, it is easy to send someone to grab an extra bunch of Ruscus if we’re short. Additionally we are just off the the highway and just blocks away from many of our favorite West Loop wedding venues! But to be honest, when we first took over the space, it was a blank slate that needed some love to make it feel like our own. So over the past 8 months, we’ve slowly made it feel more like The Life In Bloom studio that we always had in mind!
Fulton Market Office – Client Meeting Space and Office
Upon entering our space is our client consultation area. With a round meeting table made of distressed wood, french oval back chairs, and a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging above, the meeting area has a casual but elegant feel. With one of our custom white bars along the wall, we’ll often pull some vases and votives that we recommend based on our client’s vision. We have a Large Display Television which we use to discuss flowers and decor in our meetings.
There is a soft ivory tufted bench in the corner and along the other walls are our three white wooden desks. All of the neutral colored furniture allows any flowers in the space to really POP! We even covered the wall behind the TV in a black and white peony printed wallpaper for a real “WOW” effect! Lastly in this space, a Custom 3-D ‘Life In Bloom’ sign is placed boldly above the white bar for clients to see as the first enter the space. (Branding 101!)
Display Shelf, Mock-up Space, and Inventory Storage
Just behind an ivory curtain that sections off the client space is the Display Shelf and the beginning to our inventory shelving. On the display shelf we have one of nearly every vase, votive, or vessel in our inventory. They are all sorted by color/finish. This was if clients are unsure what style of glass vase they want in their wedding decor, we pop back to the display shelf and they can look for themselves at the extensive options readily available to them. Next to the Display shelf is our mock-up space. Here we will show sample centerpieces for our booked clients. This usually happens a few months before their wedding date in an effort to help finalize the exact floral palettes of their big day.
Beyond the display shelf and mock-up space is our inventory shelving. Due to Rachel’s impeccable organization skills, everything’s organized in a systematic and orderly way. And this allows our entire operations to run very efficiently. While 75% of our inventory is on the shelves of our Fulton market office, we have another off-site location that houses the rest of our inventory that we use less frequently.
Fulton Market Floral Design Studio Production Space
And beyond all of this is where the real magic happens in our Fulton Market office! For starters, our floral design studio’s production space includes a 10’x12′ walk-in cooler that can fit 9 shelving carts comfortably or 3 weddings worth of arrangements. And just for safe measure, we have an additional floral display cooler where we often keep our personals like bouquets and boutonniere. Next, we have three stainless steel work benches where the majority of our floral designing happens. With a remarkably systemized organizational system and a chalkboard where all daily tasks are displayed, you can rest assured that every i is dotted and t is crossed come wedding day!
While many of you haven’t seen our space in person yet, we hope to have you in soon! Whether it is to discuss the vision for your big day or to see your wedding mock-up! If nothing else, you can enjoy these beautiful photos below by Artistrie Co. of the Life In Bloom team working in our element! Hope you enjoy the tour!
COMMENTs:
0